M&A sprees are addictive… and they cause me to sell, sell, sell September 15, 2020 | City Talk Aswath Damodaran has a blunt message for companies considering an acquisition: “Don’t do it.” “I firmly believe that acquisitions are an addiction, that once companies start to grow through acquisitions, they cannot stop,” Aswath Damodaran, Professor of Finance at New York University Stern School of Business, told the audience at the CFA Institute Equity Research [...]
Signs of a positive Q4 despite lingering crisis September 9, 2020 | Sponsored Going into Q4 2020, we’re seeing EMEA starting to peek its head over the crest of the global pandemic. The just-released SS&C Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor for Q4 2020 forecasts that M&A announcements may see a YOY uptick of +6 percent, within a range of +15 percent to -2 percent. Distressed M&A deals have risen slightly here, but [...]
Exclusive: Bust burrito chain Chilango sold out of administration August 27, 2020 Burrito chain Chilango has today been sold out of administration after the Covid-19 pandemic finished off the already struggling business, City A.M. can reveal. The Mexican-themed fast-food chain told investors today that administrators RSM had secured a buyer for the business. RSM confirmed this afternoon the the chain had been sold to Investment group RD [...]
Gender Diversity and M&A Outcomes: An Interview with Marianne W. Lewis, Ph.D. August 26, 2020 | Sponsored For the SS&C Intralinks Deal Flow Predictor for Q2 2020, we spoke to Marianne W. Lewis, Ph.D., about a new Intralinks research report, Gender Diversity and M&A Outcomes: How Female Board-Level Representation Affects Corporate Dealmaking. This report, based on a 20-year global study of more than 16,700 M&A transactions, discusses the findings of recently completed research into [...]
Virtual live music business Melody VR buys Napster in $70m deal August 25, 2020 Virtual live music business Melody VR said today it has bought music streaming business Napster in a $70m (£53.8m) deal. Melody VR, which launched in 2018, uses virtual reality technology to allow music fans to experience gigs from artists such as Post Malone, Chainsmokers (pictured), Lewis Capaldi, Blake Shelton, Wiz Khalifa, Kelly Clarkson, Niall Horan, [...]
Goldman and Barclays eye General Motors’ credit card business August 12, 2020 Goldman Sachs and Barclays are reportedly among bidders for General Motors credit card unit. The two banks are among a small number of suitors for the car company’s credit card business which has about $3bn (£2.3bn) in outstanding balances, according to The Wall Street Journal. Goldman currently has a relatively small presence in consumer banking, [...]
Pearson shares rocket as Cevian Capital snaps up stake June 12, 2020 Pearson shares surged almost 10 per cent this morning after activist investor Cevian Capital unmasked a 5.4 per cent stake in the firm. A regulatory filing in the US yesterday showed Stockholm-based investor Cevian Capital has taken a stake of 40.6m shares in Pearson. Shares in the educational publisher were up 9.7 per cent to [...]
Domestic M&A rises in first quarter despite coronavirus, as foreign takeovers fall June 2, 2020 UK M&A increased in the first quarter despite the outbreak of coronavirus, while foreign takeovers fell to their lowest level since 2017. During the first quarter, domestic M&A – where UK companies acquire other UK companies – was worth £3.2bn, an increase of £1.1bn in the same period last year, according to the Office for [...]
Tilney and Smith & Williamson strike revised merger deal with Warburg Pincus investing in the group June 1, 2020 Wealth managers Tilney and Smith & Williamson have agreed a revised merger deal with private equity fund Warburg Pincus investing in the combined group. The deal had looked in doubt after regulatory problems and the coronavirus crisis meant an initial deadline to agree a merger was missed. Today, the pair said as part of the [...]
Property giant Capco snaps up 26 per cent stake in rival Shaftesbury in £436m deal June 1, 2020 UK property manager Capco has acquired a 26 per cent stake in London-focused property firm Shaftesbury for £436m. Capco has bought the stake from a trust set up by Hong Kong tycoon Samuel Tak Lee for 540p per share, representing a discount of 13.9 per cent to the closing Shaftesbury share price on 29 May. [...]